Old timer in Memphis showed me a trick with a chalk line

Met this guy at a job site last month. He said I was snapping lines wrong. Told me to wax the string myself instead of buying pre-waxed. Smacked the line once and it left a perfect mark that lasted all day. Anybody else still do stuff the old way instead of buying the new gear?

2 comments

2 Comments

ryanh561d ago

That bit about waxing the string yourself brings back a memory. My grandpa used to mix his own chalk with a little bit of linseed oil and turpentine, just a drop or two. Said it made the line stick to wet wood like glue. He'd get real particular about the color too, only used blue for outside work and red for inside. You ever see anyone mix their own chalk like that?

finleyw991d ago

Buddy of mine tried mixing his own chalk once after reading some old forum post about it. He used linseed oil like your grandpa @ryanh56 but got the ratio wrong and ended up with this weird paste that never dried right. Took him an hour to clean it off his line.